Monday, 26 November 2012

At the start of the 15th century, we find
Austria with a similar division as Bavaria; an Upper and Lower Austria, each of two duchies. Unlike Bavaria, the Austrian domains were a result of
political unification and a last will of a dying Duchess.

Austria

During the war against Hungary, Ottokar II of Bohemia
managed to unite Styria with Austria in 1261 and later added Carinthia and
Carniola in 1269. After his defeat by Rudolph I of Germany in 1278, the House
of Hapsburg reigned until WWI.

In the 14th and 15th century,
lands in the vicinity were acquired, the most significant being Tyrol,
bequeathed to Rudolph IV of Austria in 1363. Following the reign of Rudolph IV,
the domains, under the Treaty of Neuberg 1379, were distributed between his
brothers Albert III and Leopold III to what is known as Upper and Lower
Austria.

Schloss - Tirol (Wiki).

Upper Austria
included Salzburg and later Tyrol (Albert III)

Arch Duchy of Austria, Vienna (residence),

Country of Tyrol, Brixen (residence),

Lower Austria
included Styria, Karnthen and Carniola (Leopold III)

County of Karinthia, Klagenfurth (residence),

County of Carniola, Lubach (residence), Austria in the Campaign. At the campaign opening, Austria has little interaction with Bavaria other than utilizing the water and land corridors en route to Switzerland. During Bavaria's internal squabbles, Austria can intermediate on their behalf. As the game progresses, Austria's attention will be directed to the political changes taking place in the east, the rise of the Ottomans.

Monday, 19 November 2012

Months back, when I create a list of topics as background research for this campaign, I added Superstition. A player
could always lay their misfortune as a result of a superstition overlooked, but other
than black cats, witches and walking under ladders, my knowledge was very limited.

This past weekend I painted 16 Wolves from Coppelstone
Castings and like most painting projects where my knowledge is limited, I screen the Internet for ideas. Along with the required details for wolf pelts, hunting
patterns and the like, nuggets of useful information regarding superstitions
and fables were uncovered.

Wolves (from
Wikipedia)

"... in Roman mythology, the Capitoline Wolf nurses Romulus
and Remus, the future founders of Rome. In the mythology of the Turks, Mongols and Ainu, wolves were believed to be
the ancestors of their people, while the Dena’ina believed wolves were once
men, and viewed them as brothers."

"It appeared in the seventh century edition of the Physiologus,
which infused pagan tales with the spirit of Christian moral and mystical
teaching. The Physiologus portrays wolves as being able to strike men
dumb on sight, and of having only one cervical vertebra. Dante included a
she-wolf, representing greed and fraud, in the first canto of the Inferno."

The Malleus Maleficarum, first published in 1487,
states that wolves are either agents of God sent to punish the wicked, or
agents of Satan, sent with God's blessing to test the faith of believers.

Witches (from
Wikipedia)

“Folk belief in reality of witchcraft had been denied by
the church in earlier centuries; Charlemagne had specifically outlawed the old
practice of witch burning "in the manner of the pagans" since
witchcraft was originally viewed by many early medieval Christians as a pagan
superstition.

By the 15th century, belief in witches was once again
openly accepted in European society, but they typically suffered penalties no
more harsh than public penances such as a day in the stocks. Persecution of
witches became more brutal following the publication of the Malleus,
with witchcraft being accepted as a real and dangerous phenomenon."

"In 1484 Kramer made one of the first attempts at a
systematic persecution of witches in the region of Tyrol. It was not a success:
Kramer was thrown out of the territory, and dismissed by the local bishop as a
"senile old man". According to Diarmaid MacCulloch, writing the book
was Kramer's act of self-justification and revenge. Some scholars have
suggested that following the failed efforts in Tyrol, Kramer and Sprenger requested
and received a papal bull Summis desiderantes affectibus in 1484. It
allegedly gave full papal approval for the Inquisition to prosecute witchcraft
in general and for Kramer and Sprenger specifically.Malleus Maleficarum was written in 1486 and
the papal bull was included as part of the preface. “

This is a tricky topic to bring to the game table without a medieval DBA game becoming a fantasy HOTT battle. The early WRG Ancient rule sets allowed for sacred items to lift a flagging morale; the Ark of the Covenant, the Raven banner, and the Oriflamme, to name a few. In one manner, the hesitancy, uncertainty or fear could result in a reduction of movement, such as would be brought on with a thick mist or no movement due to an eclipse of the sun as examples. After some thought, this item would have a better place at the strategic level. If an area were known to be inhabited by wolves, witches or other demons one would normally give the area a pass. Questionable areas can be marked on a map, that any player wishing to pass through would require an extra incentive (extra pip) to do so.

You could view the + 1 requirement to cover the time necessary to
find the local “priest/wizard or astrologer” who could bless, conjure or divine
the propitious moment to move.

Monday, 12 November 2012

This was a slight detour from the usual medieval test
of two similar formed armies. The Hungarians fielded equally as many knights as light
horse and equal numbers of solid and fast foot types; in retrospect, a nicely balanced army.
The Wallachians by contrast could match the Hungarians with light horse but the
cavalry were somewhat outclassed. With the exception of two archer units, the
majority of Wallachian foot were skirmishers.

As defenders, the Wallachians brought a maximum number of
forest and a gentle hill to the board. Their deployment placed a majority of
skirmishers on the left flank, while archers and light horse made use of the
gentle hill on the right. The remaining cavalry were positioned in the center.

The Hungarians formed up in two wings. All the cavalry formed up in two lines on the left, while the infantry made a solid front of foot with skirmishers formed up on the right flank.

Both sides were plagued with poor die roll, so both
armies placed their opening effort with their right flanks. Wallachian
skirmishers supported by light horse seized the small woods outflanking the
Hungarian knights. Bow fire had the effect of Hungarian knights recoiling.
Nonetheless, the Hungarians for their effort were rewarded with a quick
skirmish and first kill of the game. 1 – 0, Hungarians.

Bound three, the Wallachians took advantage and
attacked the recoiling Hungarian knights while a small group of skirmishers
attacked Hungarian crossbow at the other end of the valley. The Hungarians
knights in their turn followed up the recoiling light horse, crossbow stood
their ground to keep a steady fire on the skirmishers and both spear and
billmen moved toward the waiting Wallachian cavalry. The Wallachian light horse
succumbed to the knight’s pursuit. 2 – 0, Hungarians.

With a low pip score, the Wallachians could only
reposition an element in anticipation of a counter attack, while archer fire
had no effect. The Hungarians in response moved on the awaiting cavalry with
the spearmen leading the assault. This set the Wallachian cavalry to recoil
leaving the General exposed. Close, but no brass ring for the blade, the
command element fell back in line.

Bound five, the Wallachians needed to eliminate the
immediate threat by the infantry to front before they could deal with the
Hungarian knights. A renewed charge and one flank enveloped, the spearmen were
eliminated, but the blade still held their ground.

2 – 1, Hungarians

By now, the Wallachians seemed to be stabilizing the
battle line, so the Hungarians launched their reserve light horse to maneuver
around the woods and seize the hill from behind. It was at this moment the
Hungarian knights, led by their general charged forward to crush a lone archer element.
3 -1 to the Hungarians.

Bound six and despite a dismal die roll, the
Wallachians pounded the billmen to dust and secured their point. The Hungarians
on the other hand with their high die roll were presented with a laden buffet
of choices. Together, the light horse and knights sealed off two Wallachian
units. The archer unit remained slippery and beat back enemy cavalry to front
and flank. The Wallachian light horse was not as fortunate. 4 – 2, Hungary.

Epilogue

This is certainly worth refighting as both sides were
plagued with bad die rolls, which meant the light horse potential for long
sweeping flank moves had to take a back bench to more urgent moves directed
from the center position. This favoured the Hungarian knights and infantry.

Regarding terrain, I had overlooked the marsh as this
is a better option to replace one of the larger woods. I will make this a mental
note for next time.

The Hungarian infantry occupied the Wallachian cavalry
long enough that the Hungarians could develop their battle around the flank.
The march around the battle line to seize the hill behind the Wallachians was
well timed.

Wednesday, 7 November 2012

The Swiss Confederation began as an alliance between
communities with a common interest in free trade and the maintenance of peace
along trade routes crossing her boundaries. Granted reichsfrei status, the
cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden came under direct authority of the
emperor. By the end of the 14th century, the cantons of Bern, Zurich and
Lucerne became part of the confederation.

An idyllic situation it was not, as the rise of the
House of Habsburg meant the dissolution of reichsfrei status, thus bringing
confederation into direct conflict with the Empire.

The Appenzell Wars

Lasting from 1401 to 1429, this successful uprising
was between the farmers and craftsmen of Appenzell and St. Gallen against the
House of Habsburg and the Prince-Abbot of the Abbey of St. Gall.

From Wikipedia:

The Battle of Arbedowas fought on June 30, 1422 between the Duchy of Milan
and the Swiss Confederation. The victory secured Bellinzona and the Leventina
to the Duchy. In addition the Duchy gained the Val d’Ossola, thus the Swiss
losing all the territorial gains they had made. The defeat discouraged the
Swiss expansionist intentions towards Lake Maggiore for a long time. It was the
defeat at Arbedo that made the Swiss increase the number of pikemen.

In the campaign

Looking at the two army lists in the current DBA 2.2
book, our Swiss army falls in the transition period of weapons choice; from
halberd to pike. As our campaign starts at the year 1400 AD, it would not seem
unreasonable to field half pike, half halberd as the Battle of Arbedo proved a
decisive point to increase the number of pike. With this in mind, the list is
modified for our purpose.

Thursday, 1 November 2012

The campaign, Storm Within the Empire opens at the
start of the 15th century. Bavaria as we know it is split into minor
duchies, each held by the sons and families of the then Emperor Louis.

Game map 1 shows the four duchies are colour-coded. Further,
München and Ingolstadt are known as Upper Bavaria, while Landshut and Straubing
make up Lower Bavaria. This is important, as the division reflects different
geography which in DBA terms are Arable, Hilly, and Forest. As the campaign
extends further to Bavarian holdings in the Lowlands, the geography around
Frisia and Seeland can be classed as “Littoral”.

The below list are the residence (capital) and cities
of each Duchy. If at first sight, some have a distinct advantage in size,
historically, this fluctuated by further internal conflicts (family feuds) and
alliances.

All four duchies draw their forces from the same
lists, IV/13b. As the campaign reaches the year 1440, option IV/13c can then be
used until that time. Knights are not double based despite the references in the
DBM(M) lists. The deployment of the wedge was not as widespread throughout the
Empire and actually was a late 15th century ideal falling outside
our campaign period.